Dimitri Payet Was FORCED To Repay Salary To Leave West Ham

In a transfer window full of drama, excitement and despair, one of the big talking points of the winter Transfer Window has met its end, with Dimitri Payet departing West Ham United to rejoin Olympique de Marseille for a fee reported to be around £25 million.

Expressing his desire to leave the Hammers earlier on in the window, it remained unclear whether or not the Frenchman would actually depart the London club in the month as the board expressed their wishes to keep hold of the attacker at all costs.

Albeit, that all came to an end last night as they conceded to the pressure of keeping an unwanted player at the club and eventually agreed to sell the Frenchman to the French side below their original asking price of approximately £35 million.

However, before being able to transition back to his home club, it has been revealed that the West Ham board forced Payet to pay back part of his salary in order to get the move he wanted. During his 18-month tenure at East London, the Frenchman quickly won the hearts of the fans and was awarded a lucrative £125,000 a week contract just over a year ago. Also, Payet received a £1 million loyalty bonus from the club in September.

As a result of his weekly salary, Payet was forced to pay back £500,000 in total (his wages earned in January), due to his dissatisfaction and lack of loyalty towards the club and supporters.

Co-Owner David Sullivan issued a statement on the transfer, going on to say that: ‘The Club would like to place on record its sincere disappointment that Dimitri Payet did not show the same commitment and respect to West Ham United that the Club and fans showed him, particularly when it rewarded him with a lucrative new five-and-half-year deal only last year.’

Lady Karren Brady also revealed that those with a Dimitri Payet #27 shirt could return it and be eligible to purchase a new replica shirt for £25 rather than its original price £69.99. ‘Morning, bring back your Payet shirt to any of the club shops & you will get a new replacement for £25.’